Caballero saves earn Manchester City League Cup glory
LONDON: Willy Caballero proved an unlikely hero with
three penalty saves as Manchester City beat Liverpool 3-1 in a Wembley Stadium
shootout on Sunday to win the English League Cup.
The game finished 1-1 following extra time,
Philippe Coutinho equalizing for Liverpool in the 83rd minute after Fernandinho
had put City ahead early in the second half, and Caballero took centre-stage in
the shootout.
The 34-year-old Argentine, who deputizes for
Joe Hart in cup competitions, saved penalties from Lucas Leiva, Coutinho and
substitute Adam Lallana and although Fernandinho hit the post with his
spot-kick, Yaya Toure stroked home the decisive penalty to give City victory.
On his decision to keep faith with
Caballero, City manager Manuel Pellegrini said: “I’d rather lose the title than
lose my word.
Manchester
City manager Manuel Pellegrini holds the League Cup trophy after his side's
victory at Wembley
“A lot of media were waiting to criticize me
if Willy Caballero makes a mistake. I had a lot of trust in Caballero. I am very
pleased for all the players and staff, but more for him because he deserved
it.”
A tearful Caballero said: “It’s amazing to
win this cup. It is fantastic for the blue (City) people.
PHOTO: AFP
“It’s important, emotional for me, my
family, to be in this great team.”
It was City’s second League Cup triumph in
three seasons, and fourth in total, and ensures that Pellegrini will sign off
with at least one trophy before handing over the reins to Pep Guardiola.
His Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp,
meanwhile, met with disappointment in his first attempt to win a trophy
following his appointment as the successor to Brendan Rodgers in October.
Liverpool, who lost Mamadou Sakho to a
first-half head injury, have gone four years without a trophy since winning the
last of their eight League Cups in 2012, raising the stakes yet further ahead
of their Europa League clash with arch rivals Manchester United.
“It is unlucky, but it is one way to lose a
cup final,” said Klopp, whose side host City in the league on Wednesday.
“We all have to feel it now. It is what it
is. You can fall, but it is how you stand up.”
Klopp elected to pick midfielder Lucas and
Sakho at centre-back, but Sakho hurt himself in an early clash of heads with
team-mate Emre Can and looked wobbly as Sergio Aguero slipped past him to curl
in a shot that Simon Mignolet brilliantly touched onto the left-hand past.
The French international left the fray
moments later, Kolo Toure entering the fray, but had to be convinced of the
need for his withdrawal by Klopp and flung a water bottle to the ground in
disgust as he walked off.
Fernandinho was playing wide on the right
for City, as he had in the mid-week Champions League win at Dynamo Kiev, and
four minutes into the second half he provided the breakthrough.
Aguero waited for him to make an overlapping
run and the Brazilian duly obliged before drilling in a shot that seemed to go
straight through Mignolet.
It was the latest in a succession of
blunders by the Belgium international and replays of the goal on the big screens
drew groans from the Liverpool end.
Two City old boys almost combined to forge
an equaliser, James Milner shooting wide from Daniel Sturridge’s through-ball,
before Raheem Sterling — roundly booed by fans of his former club — squandered
a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0 by shooting wide from David Silva’s pass.
He also miscued from an Aguero cut-back and
they were to prove costly misses as, with seven minutes to go, Liverpool
levelled.
Sturridge played a low cross into the box
from the right and although Lallana contrived to hit the post from close range,
Coutinho followed in to side-foot home. It was Liverpool’s first shot on
target.
Mignolet partly redeemed himself by saving
sharply from Fernando and, in extra time, Aguero before Caballero repelled a
header from substitute Divock Origi at the other end.
It was the first save he had had to make,
but there were three more to come.
Can settled Liverpool’s nerves with a classy
Panenka penalty before Fernandinho hit the post, but with Caballero thwarting
Lucas, Coutinho and Lallana, penalties from Jesus Navas, Aguero and Yaya Toure
saw City home.
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